Search within Legislation

In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 16A and 77(1) of the Central Provident Fund Act, the Minister for Manpower, after consulting with the Central Provident Fund Board, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Central Provident Fund (Medisave Account Withdrawals) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2006 and shall come into operation on 1st July 2006.

Amendment of regulation 2

2. Regulation 2(1) of the Central Provident Fund (Medisave Account Withdrawals) Regulations (Rg 17) (referred to in these Regulations as the principal Regulations) is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “in-patient”, the following definition:

“ “last medical bill”, in relation to a member who has died on or after 1st July 2006 in an approved medical institution before his discharge therefrom, means the bill for charges incurred in respect of the medical or psychiatric treatments which the member received in the approved medical institution;”; and

(b)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “pre-delivery medical treatment”, the following definition:

“ “prescribed person”, in relation to a member, means a person —

(a)

who has attained the age of 21 years and is of sound mind; and

(b)

who is —

(i)

a committee of the person or of the estate of the member, appointed under the provision of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap. 178); or

(ii)

the spouse, a parent or a child of the member, or such other person related to the member as the Minister for Health may approve for the purposes of regulation 3;”.

Deletion and substitution of regulation 3 and new regulation 3A

3. Regulation 3 of the principal Regulations is deleted and the following regulations substituted therefor:

“Application for withdrawal

3.—(1) Subject to the Act and these Regulations, where a member or his dependant has received any medical, psychiatric or approved treatment from an approved medical practitioner in any approved medical institution, the Board may, on an application by the member within the period of 12 months commencing immediately after the relevant date or within such further period as may be specified by the Board, authorise the whole or part of the amount standing to the member’s credit in his medisave account to be withdrawn and used for the payment of the medical, psychiatric or approved treatment received by the member or his dependant, subject to such terms and conditions as the Board may impose.

(2) Where a member has received treatment in any of the situations specified in paragraph (3), the Board may, on an application by a prescribed person within the period of 12 months commencing immediately after the relevant date or within such further period as may be specified by the Board, authorise the whole or part of the amount standing to the member’s credit in his medisave account to be withdrawn and used for the payment of the treatment received by the member, subject to such terms and conditions as the Board may impose.

(3) The situations mentioned in paragraph (2) are as follows:

(a)

where the member —

(i)

has received any medical, psychiatric or approved treatment in —

(A)

any approved hospital;

(B)

any approved community hospital;

(C)

any approved convalescent hospital;

(D)

any approved hospice;

(E)

any approved day hospital;

(F)

any approved day surgery centre;

(G)

the Singapore Gamma Knife Centre; or

(H)

a Senior Citizens Health Care Centre;

(ii)

is unconscious or otherwise mentally incapacitated; and

(iii)

is unable to make an application under paragraph (1) himself;

(b)

where the member —

(i)

has received any medical or psychiatric treatment as an in-patient from an approved medical practitioner in —

(A)

any approved hospital;

(B)

any approved community hospital;

(C)

any approved convalescent hospital;

(D)

any approved hospice; or

(E)

any approved day hospital;

(ii)

has not made an application under paragraph (1) himself; and

(iii)

dies, on or after 1st July 2006, before he is discharged from the approved hospital or hospice referred to in sub-paragraph (i); and

(c)

where the member has received, before his death, any treatment under such other circumstances as the Minister for Health may approve for the purposes of these Regulations, on such terms and conditions as the Minister for Health may impose.

(4) Every application for the withdrawal of moneys from a member’s medisave account under these Regulations shall be made in such form, and supported by such information and documents, as the Board may require.

(5) An application for the withdrawal of moneys from a member’s medisave account made by a prescribed person under paragraph (2) in relation to a situation specified in paragraph (3)(a) shall be signed by the prescribed person in the presence of an approved medical practitioner who shall confirm in writing that the member is unable to make the application due to his medical condition.

in a case where the member or his dependant received any medical, psychiatric or approved treatment as an in-patient or received day surgical treatment in an approved medical institution, the date of discharge of the member or his dependant (as the case may be) from the approved medical institution;

(b)

in a case where the member received any medical or psychiatric treatment as an in-patient in an approved medical institution and the member dies in the approved medical institution before his discharge therefrom, the date of his death;

(c)

in a case where the member or his dependant received as an out-patient any approved medical treatment comprising a course of such treatment, the date on which the member or his dependant (as the case may be) received the first treatment of the course; or

(d)

in any other case, the date on which the member or his dependant received any medical or approved treatment as an out-patient.

Limits on withdrawal

3A.—(1) Where moneys are withdrawn from one or more medisave accounts under regulation 3 for the payment of any medical, psychiatric or approved treatment, the total amount withdrawn for the payment of the treatment shall be subject to the limits prescribed in regulation 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13A, 15, 16, 17 or 18, as applicable.

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), where the withdrawal is made from the medisave accounts of —

(a)

a deceased member; and

(b)

the spouse, a parent or a child of the deceased member, or any other person related to the deceased member and whom the Minister for Health has approved for the purposes of regulation 3,

the whole or part of the amount standing to the credit of the deceased member in the medisave account shall be withdrawn first for payment of the deceased member’s last medical bill before the moneys standing to the credit of the person referred to in sub-paragraph (b) in the medisave account are used to pay the balance of the deceased member’s last medical bill.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), where moneys are withdrawn from a deceased member’s medisave account under regulation 3 for the payment of his last medical bill, the limits prescribed in regulations 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13A and 17 shall not apply.

(4) Notwithstanding the limits on the withdrawal of moneys from medisave accounts prescribed in these Regulations, the Minister may, in a particular case, approve the withdrawal of the whole or part of the amount standing to the credit of a deceased member in the medisave account in excess of the prescribed limits for the payment of the charges incurred in respect of any treatment received by the member in an approved medical institution before his death, subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may impose.

(5) For the avoidance of doubt, in relation to the payment of a deceased member’s last medical bill, any further limits on the withdrawal of moneys from the deceased member’s medisave account that may be specified by the member before his death shall be disregarded.”.

Amendment of regulation 4

4. Regulation 4 (1) of the principal Regulations is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “paragraph (2)”, the words “and regulation 3A”.

Amendment of regulation 5

5. Regulation 5 (1) of the principal Regulations is amended by deleting the word “Where” and substituting the words “Subject to regulation 3A, where”.

Amendment of regulation 6

6. Regulation 6 (1) of the principal Regulations is amended by deleting the word “Where” and substituting the words “Subject to regulation 3A, where”.

Amendment of regulation 7

7. Regulation 7 (1) of the principal Regulations is amended by deleting the word “Where” and substituting the words “Subject to regulation 3A, where”.

Amendment of regulation 8

8. Regulation 8 (1) of the principal Regulations is amended by deleting the word “Where” and substituting the words “Subject to regulation 3A, where”.

Amendment of regulation 13A

9. Regulation 13A (1) of the principal Regulations is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “this regulation”, the words “and regulation 3A”.

Amendment of regulation 17

10. Regulation 17 of the principal Regulations is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “these Regulations”, the words “(other than regulation 3A)”.

[G.N. Nos.S 887/2005; S50/2006; S 192/2006]

Made this 20th day of June 2006.

LEO YIP

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower, Singapore.

[MMS 10/82 V21; AG/LEG/SL/36/2005/18 Vol. 1]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 78(2) of the Central Provident Fund Act).